CHILDREN

How We Can Protect Our

from

Secondhand Smoke

A Parent’s Guide

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Secondhand smoke threatens our children.

Secondhand smoke comes from lit cigarettes and cigars. It also 

comes from smoke breathed out by smokers. When children 

breathe secondhand smoke, it is like they are smoking, too. 

Secondhand smoke is made of thousands of chemicals. Many 

are poisons that stay in your body. What do these poisons do? 

The U.S. Surgeon General asked scientists to find out. They 

found that secondhand smoke harms everyone, especially 

children. They also learned that

• An estimated 58 million nonsmoking Americans, including

14 million children aged 3-11 years, are exposed to

secondhand smoke.

• They breathe it at home, day care, and in cars.

• Children are almost twice as likely as nonsmoking adults

to be exposed to secondhand smoke.

Here are just a few of the chemicals and poisons in tobacco smoke.

1

14 million children aged 

3-11 years are exposed to

secondhand smoke.

Butane

Used in lighter 

fluid

Toluene

Found in paint 

thinners

Cadmium

Used in making 

batteries

Ammonia

Used in 

household 

cleaners

Benzene

Found in gasoline

Hydrogen 

cyanide

Used in chemical 

weapons

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How does secondhand smoke hurt our 

children?

Tobacco smoke harms babies, even before they are born. It 

harms children, too, because their lungs and bodies are still 

growing.

• Babies who

breathe

secondhand

smoke are more

likely to die

unexpectedly

from sudden

infant death

syndrome (SIDS),

also called crib

death.

• Babies and

children

who breathe

secondhand

smoke are sick

more often

with bronchitis,

pneumonia, and

ear infections.

• For children with asthma, breathing secondhand smoke

can trigger an attack. The attack can be severe enough to

send a child to the hospital. Sometimes an asthma attack

is so severe that a child dies.

2

Smoking during pregnancy can cause your 

baby to be born too early and have low birth 

weight. If you smoke, your baby is more 

likely to become sick or die.

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3

Children can’t hide from secondhand 

smoke at home. Here’s why...

Smoking in another room like a bathroom or bedroom 

pollutes all the air in your home. In an apartment, smoke in 

one room can go through the whole building.

• Smoking outside in a hall or stairwell does not protect

children inside. Smoke goes under doors, windows, and

through cracks.

• To protect the children inside, homes and apartment

buildings must be smoke-free.

No amount of secondhand smoke is safe. Even when you 

can’t smell it, cigarette smoke can still harm your child.

• Opening a window or using a fan does not protect children.

• Air purifiers and air fresheners do not remove smoke’s

poisons.

• Smoke from one cigarette can stay in a room for hours.

Don’t smoke at home, even when children aren’t there.

Allowing people to smoke 

in only one room does not 

protect children. Smoke 

from halls and stairs gets 

inside, too.

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We must protect children from 

secondhand smoke everywhere. 

At Home. If you take care of children in your home, do 

not allow anyone to smoke there. Do not let babysitters or 

family and friends smoke around your children.

In Day Care. Make sure smoking is not allowed in your 

child’s day care.

At School. Make sure your child’s school is smoke-free 

inside and out. All school events should be “No Smoking.” 

In Public. Choose restaurants and businesses that are 

smoke-free. “No Smoking” sections in restaurants do not 

protect children from secondhand smoke.

In Your Car. Do not allow anyone to smoke if children are 

riding in your car. Rolling down a window does not protect 

them.

4

Show that you care. Don’t allow anyone to smoke around children. Print Only
5

As adults, we have the power to protect our 

children from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Take simple steps to protect your children 

from secondhand smoke. 

Children respect and learn from your actions and words. 

As caregivers, we teach our children by the choices we make. 

• Ask people not to smoke around your children.

• Support family and friends who also want to stop smoking.

• Decide to have a smoke-free home and car, and ask

family and friends to respect your decision.

• Get rid of all ashtrays in your home.

• Teach your children to stay away from secondhand

smoke. Encourage your teens not to smoke.

• Make the decision to quit smoking. Get help from your

doctor, family, and friends. Call this free quit-line:

1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).

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What happens now can change 

our children’s future.

To order and download copies of this brochure, go to

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/order-pubs.

For more information on protecting children from 

secondhand smoke, please visit

www.cdc.gov/tobacco

For free information on how to quit smoking, call

1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)

or visit

www.smokefree.gov

Tips From Former Smokers® campaign

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/

6

This brochure is based on information in the following publications: 

Exposure to Secondhand SmokeAmong Nonsmokers—United States, 1988–2014.

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: 

A Report of the Surgeon General,

and its summary, Secondhand Smoke: What it Means to You.

To download the two latter publications, go to 

www.cdc.gov/tobacco and click on “Surgeon General’s Report.”

To order free copies, go to

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/order-pubs.

Revised, January 2019

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CHILDREN

How We Can Protect Our

Does anyone smoke near your children?

Do you allow people to smoke anywhere 

in your home?

Do you live in a building where 

neighbors smoke?

Do you allow smoking in your car?

Do your children visit places where 

people are smoking?

Is smoking allowed outside your day 

care, school, or church?

YES NO

If you checked yes to any of the above, your 

children are not safe from tobacco smoke.

Are your children in danger from 

secondhand smoke?

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